Theater
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The meaning of Havel's "Leaving' (4th review)
Art, politics and humanity: Václav Havel, in theory and practice
Some critics have attacked Vaclav Havel's Leaving for ridiculing his own heroic political career. On the contrary, Havel is deeply concerned about what it means to be human in a globalized world. Leaving is his critique of uncritical language and careless thinking that allow scoundrels to leap into the void.
Articles
7 minute read
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (3rd review)
We needed you. Now leave.
Like Moses, Vaclav Havel led his people to the promised land, but it's his own fault if he couldn't follow them in. While this production soars, its valedictory message stammers— as I can attest, having lived in Prague in the wake of Havel's presidency.
Articles
5 minute read
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (2nd review)
Havel's confession of failure
Vaclav Havel's Leaving, the first play in 20 years by the playwright-president, is well served by a cast led by David Strathairn, and well produced under Jiri Zizka's energetic direction. But its importance lies less in its at-best fitful theatrical interest than as a testament of its author's profound disillusionment with his career—and with that of capitalist modernity in general.
Articles
6 minute read
"Fiddler On the Roof' at the Walnut
Anatevka reborn
The Walnut Street Theater's production of Fiddler on the Roof is better than any I've seen, aside from the original Broadway staging that ran from 1964 to 1972.
Articles
3 minute read
Vaclav Havel's "Leaving' at the Wilma (1st review)
Will the real Vaclav Havel please stand up?
Here's a play about what happens when a statesman leaves office by a statesman who did leave office. But for all the insights he might have offered in Leaving, Vaclav Havel shoots for farce rather than drama.
Articles
4 minute read
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' by PTC
Bigotry and its consequences
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom uses a blues band's 1927 recording session to illuminate the self-destructive black rage engendered by centuries of white oppression. This compelling revival by Philadelphia Theatre Company demonstrates that, like all works of art, August Wilson's modern classic succeeds at several other levels as well.
Articles
4 minute read
Katharine Gray's "516' by Philadelphia Theatre Workshop
Homage, or recycling?
Katharine Clark Gray's tedious and meandering 516 borrows heavily from Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things without much improvement.
Articles
2 minute read
Brecht's "Arturo Ui' in Delaware (2nd review)
Who stole my wallet?
I never understood Hitler's charismatic hold on the German people, but this adept ensemble performance provides a clue: It keeps us so astonished that we're blinded and immobilized from calling his bluff.
Articles
2 minute read
Quintessence Theatre's "Measure For Measure'
A Bard for the 21st Century
The new Quintessence Theatre Group seeks to update the classics for a mass audience. With Measure For Measure, they're off to a good start, even if its strengths lie more in strong acting than in novel concepts.
Articles
4 minute read
"Xanadu' in Wilmington
The good old days of disco
Xanadu, a knockoff of a 1980 movie about a goddess who helps a bunch of California kids open a disco, lacks a discernible point, other than a chance to hear some good disco music once again. That point alone may suffice.
Articles
3 minute read